A Dunwoody councilwoman announced she’s resigning her seat next month after she and her husband unexpectedly sold their house and plan to move out of the district she represents.
Pam Tallmadge, who has represented District 1 since 2015, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she and her husband “couldn’t refuse” the offer they received on their home, which they didn’t initially intend to sell.
She said they were looking at houses in St. Petersburg, Florida, earlier this year because one of their sons lives there, but they never put their house on the market. But then she received a call at the end of April from an interested real estate agent.
“I told my husband, and he said to throw out his number (asking price). We did, and they said OK,” Tallmadge said. “So everything you read in the news about it being a seller’s market, well it happened to us.”
City spokeswoman Jennifer Boettcher said Mayor Lynn Deutsch plans to appoint a replacement councilmember sometime over the summer to finish Tallmadge’s term. Tallmadge has endorsed Catherine Lautenbacher, retired U.S. Air Force captain and program director for Leadership Sandy Springs, to be her successor.
Tallmadge announced earlier this year she would not be running for reelection this November, citing a belief in term limits. She was first elected in a 2015 special election to replace Dennis Shortal, who resigned to successfully run for mayor. She was then reelected in 2017.
“As much as I would love to serve another term and see many initiatives to full term, I have always stated that I am a firm believer of term limits, therefore it is time to pass the baton,” she said in a recent letter to city staff and elected officials, which announced her resignation effective July 15.
Tallmadge said she declined to move out of her Dunwoody home before mid-July, so she could help oversee the Dunwoody Fourth of July parade. She’s a co-chair over the event.
She cited the city’s multiple parkland acquisitions and renovation projects as among her proudest accomplishments while in office. While the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down development at the popular Dunwoody Village, she’s also excited about multiple plans that are coming down the pipeline for that area.
In early June, Tallmadge said her family found a home in Woodstock and will move there for a few years before trying to relocate to Florida. She doesn’t intend to run for any political office while in Woodstock.
“I just have loved every moment of working with staff and counsel,” she told the AJC. “In serving the folks of Dunwoody, it’s truly been an honor, and I haven’t regretted one minute of it.”
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